Category Archives: winter time fun

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With the Olympics taking place in SOUTH KOREA this month, it’s easy to get the urge to want to go outdoors and have some winter fun. While it’s still cold and – maybe snowy – you can try a few games of your own and enjoy some homemade Olympics. Check out these sights for winter snow fun.

Watch ski-jumping. Skate, ski, jump and slide on the ice. Or, are you a bob-sledder? Curling? Try sliding smooth rocks across a frozen driveway or sidewalk. (NEVER ON A POND OR BODY OF WATER!!!) Enjoy the games and be inspired to create some winter fun as well.

What comes from the sap of trees, doesn’t freeze in below zero temperatures, and is native to North America?

MAPLE SYRUP. In the eastern part of the US, maple trees fill our parks and forests. While Canada and Vermont produce the most maple syrup, you can get sap from ANY maple tree that is at least 45 years old. Sap runs like clear water when tapped; the texture and color we enjoy on our pancakes comes from reducing the sap into syrup through WOOD-FIRED EVAPORATORS. It takes 40 gallons of sap to yield ONE GALLON of syrup – the reason why pure maple syrup cosst a lot more than pancake syrup which is made with high-fructose corn syrup and maple flavoring. Once you’ve tasted the real thing, pancake syrup just doesn’t cut it.

If you’re looking for a family-friendly road trip, why not check out some of the Maple Sugaring Demonstrations in NJ and PA that usually run from late January through early March. Here is just a sample of some of the many sites in the Eastern US. Check each specific website for dates. Some charge admission and require advance registration.

1. Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center in Chatham Township, NJ offers one-hour programs that teach you to identify and tap maple trees for sap collection at 1 and 2:30 PM every day rain or shine. http://www.morrisparks.net

6. Howell Living History Farm, Lambertville, NJ: In addition to syrup making demonstrations, this program also offers butter making, flour milling and pancake eating! Admission is FREE.http://www.howellfarm.org.

Come January, when rich holiday treats are but a sweet memory, I take comfort in baking runzas, one of the hearty, yet simple foods, of my European heritage. Runzas are pockets of bread dough stuffed with a savory mixture of ground beef, onions and cabbage. The scent of bread dough rising and the hash simmering on the stove, the flavors melding, put me in mind of Grandma cooking in her kitchen.

Runzas are thought to have originated in Russia in the early 1800s and spread to Germany. Handheld and portable, they are similar to Italian stromboli, Greek pirouskia and Indian samosas. German Immigrants brought the runza recipe with them to the United States, but the sandwiches aren’t well known outside of Nebraska, where the Runza Hut chain has most of its restaurants. The recipe I reach for on Saturday afternoons in winter is from a cookbook published in 1976 by the Federated Woman’s Club in my hometown, Bellevue, NE.

Runzas: Ingredients

Dough* Hamburger Filling

2 cups very warm water 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

2 packages active dry yeast 1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 cups shredded cabbage

1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup water

1 egg 1 1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tblsp. melted butter, cooled 1/2 tsp. black pepper

6 1/2 cups flour dash of Tabasco

* Use prepared bread dough instead, if you prefer. Two loaves should be enough.

Directions: Mix very warm water, yeast, sugar, salt and stir until dissolved. (This process is known as proofing the yeast. If you aren’t familiar with it, the information is easy to find online.)

Add egg and butter. Stir in flour. Put dough in a covered bowl, greased with vegetable oil, and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk, about an hour.

While the dough is rising, brown ground beef, and onion. Drain grease. Add cabbage, seasonings, and water. Simmer 15 minutes and cool. Punch down the dough and roll it out in an oblong about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 16 squares. Spoon a few tablespoons of the meat mixture in the middle of each square of dough. Pull the four corners of the dough up over the meat mixture and press the edges together. (Some cooks favor a round bun; others, an oblong.) Place the filled buns on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Now that winter is here, we are in full bird feeding mode. And, along with the birds come their friends the squirrels. Instead of trying to chase these critters away, why not help scientists better understand them. Whether you live in a city, the suburbs or a small town, squirrels are part of our landscape.

You and your kids can help researchers understand squirrel ecology by submitting your observations of the animals to the PROJECT SQUIRREL site. http://www.projectsquirrel.org

When I do school visits or talk to children about my book WHEELS OF CHANGE they often want to know how kids played and entertained themselves in the early 1900’s. Without electricity and electronic devices, children of yesteryear had to use their imagination to have a day of fun. Inventing games and pretend play really hasn’t gone out of style – I witness it every time I visit children on the playground or during their free time.

Toys have changed however. Many of the things children play with today require batteries and often perform only one function. Yet there are still some toys that have stood the test of time and continue to be popular. During my research for the book – set in 1908 – I compiled this list of the top ten toys of the era. Do any of them appear on your children’s list to Santa?

TOP TEN TOYS OF 1900-1920

Teddy Bear (1902)- in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt who, on a hunting trip, had an opportunity to kill a bear and didn’t.

While my son was growing up, one of the favorite traditions during the holiday season was the gift of a new HESS TRUCK. These toys made their debut at Hess gas stations in 1964 and have gained in popularity over the years. Many kids receive these toys and have kept them as part of a collection. My son has three such trucks tucked away and will no doubt hand them down to his children one day. The toys are considered collectibles and not available in stores.

This season features a DUMP TRUCK AND LOADER– with an added component: STEM lessons!

Available for FREE DOWNLOAD is a new STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) curriculum with eight lessons – all featuring the truck. The curriculum can be used for home or school use and teaches kids about LIFTING FORCES, LEVERAGE, DEGREES OF FREEDOM, and other concepts.